Dallas County election chief calls for countywide voting in May runoff after primary chaos ... and more news

Dallas County’s elections chief is trying to scrap the precinct system pushed by Republicans and return to countywide voting for the May 26 runoff. In other news, as Dallas officials prepared to debate City Hall’s future, a commercial real estate broker helping analyze relocation options grew frustrated when his firm was not allowed to compete for the work; Texas’ school voucher-style program application window has been extended by two weeks, following a federal judge’s order Tuesday, citing concerns about the exclusion of Islamic schools from the program; and Big Tex, the 55-foot-tall icon of the State Fair of Texas, is getting a new pair of boots. The State Fair announced this week that Aaliyah McNeal had produced the winning design of the 2026 Big Tex Boot Design Contest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins discuss [2:04] the Cowboys' offseason moves. Calvin tells us why the Cowboys traded Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers and why a third-round pick in return was better than he thought they'd get. The guys also discuss the priorities in the draft now that the Cowboys have made the bulk of their free agent moves. [21:14] Evan breaks down a potential starting lineup for Opening Day, fills us in on a "lighter" Corey Seager and notes that a bad spring is good for Joc Pederson. We'll take his word for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rick Welts, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, on the Luka Doncic trade, his vision of the Mavericks as a sports entertainment company and conversations about a new arena in Dallas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once a skeptic, Sen. John Cornyn has become one of President Donald Trump’s most eager allies. Cornyn’s loyalty has put him in line for Trump’s coveted endorsement in the May 26 runoff, potentially a huge boost over Paxton. In other news, Dallas is the worst major city in Texas for allergies, but conditions are improving; students will soon be able to study at Texas A&M University’s new Fort Worth campus. The downtown campus, which broke ground in 2023, is opening its first building and starting classes this fall; nd a federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal died Saturday morning at Parkland Memorial Hospital. He was admitted to the hospital about 11:45 p.m. Friday. In other news, Dallas mayor Eric Johnson said the I.M. Pei-designed City Hall is aging, expensive to maintain and ill-suited for modern government operations; Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler each won their first Oscars, moving tributes were paid to Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Rob Reiner and an absent Sean Penn won best supporting actor at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday; and nearly a decade of waiting ended Sunday for the SMU Mustangs, who are finally going dancing once again. The Mustangs enter the tournament as an 11-seed and will face Miami Ohio in a First Four game in Dayton on Wednesday night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John wants to know if there are positive signs about the Rangers offense and Evan delivers the goods. But he's got no answers for John on the state of the bullpen. Then Pete Incaviglia joins the guys to talk about the 40th anniversary of his legendary rookie season, his enduring love for the game that has him in Cleburne for the summer. He also weighs in on what he saw as Kumar Rocker's first manager in professional baseball. Finally, with Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler holding an excellent chance at making the team, John cracks open the archives to delve into the history of Ranger Rule 5 picks. Carlos Tocci anyone? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Dallas a bread town? This week on Eat Drink D-FW, we make the case — and break down why that line snaking out of Shy Boy is absolutely worth it. We also get into a conversation that's been a long time coming: what's the real difference between a food influencer and a food journalist, and does it even matter anymore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was not always easy to reach during several behind-the-scenes economic development discussions over the past year, even as business leaders sought direct contact with him. In other news, Frisco ISD trustees named Todd Fouche as the lone finalist to become the next superintendent after a unanimous vote Thursday evening; Ashley Furniture is ending its manufacturing operations at a site in Mesquite. The retailer will cut 266 positions with the move that consolidates production efforts; and why is barbecue so contentious? Dallas Morning News Food Reporter Sarah Blaskovich asked for insight from Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The arguments capped the two-week trial stemming from the July 4 protest last year in which an Alvarado police officer was shot and wounded. Jury deliberations will begin Thursday.  In other news, customers of Invitation Homes, a Dallas-based single-family home landlord, could get a piece of a $47.2 million settlement the Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday; a development in southern Dallas is a finalist for a competition hosted by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company. Hoque Global’s University Hills project is among 16 other finalists for the drilling company’s plan to construct a mile-long tunnel; and Rep. Marc Veasey is urging Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers to remove a recently installed statue at the team’s ballpark that he says honors a law enforcement officer linked to segregation-era resistance to school integration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington and Evan Grant team up from Surprise for an all-Rangers, all-the-time podcast. [3:45] Who's the star of camp this spring? What's going on with Josh Jung? What does the back end of the rotation look like? If the Rangers get off to a bad start, will Chris Young conduct a fire sale? And how's the new ABS challenge system working out so far? All this and more in a spring training special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices